Light & Dark
by Rock Howard
Summary: She killed his father. For four years, the hatred inside him grew. But the image of her faded from his memory... so what happens when the person you love more than anyone looks just like her? (rated R for strong violence, language, and sexual content)
1. Bitter Hatred

** *NOTE* This story contains characters from all kinds of people that are copyrighted to people that aren't me. I'm pretty familiar with who owns most of these but I don't know which ones are original. I didn't make up any of these, though.. So.. Don't sue me, please. This is based on a true story.. Sorta.. Between various characters on the Webnet server of IRC. It contains a few rather well known anime and video game characters... Not all of the stories match up with their fiction of origin so don't flame me about discrepancies.... Or typos (X_x) I'm quite aware of most of the story-related errors in this story and they are all intentional.**  
  
Chapter One: Bitter Hatred  
  
It was an unbearably hot day in the desert. The wind stung at the skin of the two travelers; one at the age of 12, the other quite a bit more advanced.. Yet still looking young for his age somewhere around 40. The young boy gasped for breath, exhausted beyond belief as he tried his hardest to trudge along to the small town that was on the outskirts of Desert Road. He spoke in short breaths as he dragged his feet alongside his elder companion "Daddy.. Are we there yet?" The older of the two shook his head in disgust as he said "I am in uniform, Rock; what are you supposed to call me when I'm in uniform?" And indeed he was in uniform, a long red silk hakama and white baggy gi shirt enclosing his body... Hardened and chiseled with the many years of training he had and still endured since before his son's birth. The young boy, now known as Rock grumbled under his breath as he still fought for breath, the distant town coming closer to view as he passed the time zipping and unzipping the left cuff of his red jacket "Otou-sensei.. Are we almost there?" His father, to which 'otou' translates to, nodded in confirmation "We'll be there in just a few moments." Young Rock let out a sigh of relief, not able to take much more as he stepped onto the gravel road at the edge of the small nameless town; knowing that he and his father were finally out of the desert by looking around at the clay and adobe buildings that lined the town's dirt and gravel roads.  
  
Rock looked at his father's hakama as he walked along the 'sidewalk'- which was really just lined and packed slates so that everyone walking wouldn't be run over- thinking 'they just look like really big pants' and indeed they were, their size was made for the purpose of allowing maximum mobility. Rock couldn't help but notice that even though there was only a few people every few blocks, they all shrunk away from his father in fear; he even heard one of them mention "Isn't that the famous Geese Howard?" He knew quite well by now that his father's name was Geese, but he hadn't the slightest clue what it was he would be famous about.  
  
He let out a long, dragged out sigh as his father led him into a small, rather shady looking bar. At least it was cooler in here with the refreshing ceiling fan and calm, soothing voice of a woman singing at the small corner stage. The woman was tall, slender, elegant; with hair that sparkled in a dark blue shade. Her voice hovered over the seedy, burly men that occupied the seats at the bar as her heavenly voice brought the collection of men into a few moments of sweet calm... Before heading back out to their life of danger. It must be noted that this bar was known for hosting some of the most evil of outlaws, and, as such, made it a prime stakeout location for bounty hunters like Geese, but that's just between you and I, of course. Rock couldn't take his eyes off the woman, despite his father's insisting and firm conditioning, he had a soft spot in him for art... for beauty... for calm relaxing things that his father disapproved of. Young Rock was quite fast on the draw mentally, so it quickly caught his attention that the woman turned her eyes to his father and gazed at him quietly from the stage. Geese returned her gaze, and stunned his young son quite thoroughly as he actually smiled for the first time since Rock could remember. The young boy was astounded at what he saw... his father.. and this beautiful mysterious woman.. just looking at each other. He knew it wasn't random, she was on stage, and she refused to look at anything else. Rock looked to his father, who had since turned attention to a barstool and the cute young girl that was serving up drinks, then back to the woman on stage. He couldn't quite understand all that she was saying, she sung in Japanese and not English... but it was enough for him to know that her voice alone was moving him. He felt like he knew her... like they were somehow attached even though he'd never seen her before... but his thoughts were interrupted by the sudden silence from the woman. She was done singing, and the sparse clapping at the end of her song was hardly worthy of her majestic voice. That didn't stop her from smiling and bowing politely before stepping off the stage and taking the stool next to Geese. She was smiling at him... quite warmly, but Geese's attention was fixed on the reflection in the shot glass. Little Rock was growing bored watching the two, so he took the time to look over his clothing. His red jacket fit him a bit too large, the sleeves hung down almost to the tips of his fingers and he wore solid black jeans to accompany the jacket and plain gray tanktop under it. His jacket was probably his favorite piece of clothing of all time, the back had a patch of a five-point star, and the left and right points were donned with a small yet stylistic set of dark blue wings, similar to that of an angel. In a sudden instant his eyes flashed and grew wide, a sudden sense of imminent danger washed over him and his heart beat insanely for several moments... but two full minutes looking over the bar revealed that nothing was out of place. He sighed with relief and combed his blond hair to the sides with his fingers. His long blond hair came down to the sides over his ears, and it had grown rather dusty from the long walk in the desert. Tired of standing, he wriggled up to the seat next to his father, opposite of the woman who now spoke with him. The woman reached out her hand and gently set it on his shoulder "Now, Geese... tell me.. what are you really doing so far from town?" Geese let out a long sigh and ran his fingers through his thin, whitish-blond hair; making sure it was slicked back despite the heat he had gone through over the past several hours "I'm looking for an outlaw" "An outlaw?" The lady inquired, sounding not so amazed by the severity, but almost taken aback in a non-impressive manner "yeah" Geese replied, "A class S bounty" This raised the woman's curiosity quite aways "Wow.. Class S... Be careful, Geese" He took down the shot in a single gulp and set it down roughly on the wooden counter "You too, Blues... You never know what kind of lowlifes stumbles into here" Rock blinked as he looked at the woman as he thought 'So.. her name is Blues? That sounds like an odd name.. maybe it's a nickname' Blues smiled almost coyly as she punched him in the arm playfully "Yeah I know... Met you in here, didn't I?" Rock blinked, his hunch that they knew each other correct. A second quick sense of danger made him whip his head around on the stool to the entrance of the bar.. but there was nothing. He could hear pitter-pattering of feet though, like someone running. He quickly turned his head left and right, scanning the entire floor of the bar, but no one was out of their seats save for a few pool players near the corner. A bloodcurdling scream from Blues caught Rock's attention as he wheeled-about in his chair and saw a terrible sight.  
  
The first thing he caught sight of was the blood... a large gush of it flying upwards and splattering against the wall in an almost perfect vertical line. Rock's eyes widened in terror as he slowly began to realize the whole situation.. his father's stool was ripped in half, and there was a blade above his head, the sharp end pointed upward. Holding the blade was a figure wrapped in a full-body cloak. All Rock could do was gasp.. as his father's body.. seemingly unfazed except for it's still movement.. split in two, right down the center, and collapsed onto the floor in two pieces, several major organs and shards of bone now spilled on the floor as a pool of blood started to form. Rock's wide red eyes glanced to his father, then up to the figure. All he could utter was a whisper.. barely even audible... "Why?" Even though he couldn't see the form's face, he could see several long strands of red hair that slipped from the side of the cloak's hood as well as a malevolent grin that crept across it's face "No one's gonna take me down, kid." The form didn't even speak directly to him, but merely called it out as it dashed by. With that, the form took off from the door, sprinting with amazing speed. Rock growled with anger as he gave chase after it, but as soon as he was out the door, he glanced to both sides of the sidewalk.. and nothing. His eyes began to well up with tears as everything that had just happened finally started to seep into his mind. His father was dead, he couldn't bare to go back into the bar to face the remains. All he wanted now was to avenge his father... his heart boiled with hatred for this mysterious assassin, but even though he had no idea who it was.. all he remembered was that the voice was almost like a woman.. attempting to sound like a man. Even though she did a fine impression, Rock always grew nervous around girls.. so he was quite positive his target was a woman. He clenched his fist.. his hand and arm trembling as the tears flowed from his young eyes. They had seen too much, it was a terribly grisly scene he had laid eyes upon. He looked to the sidewalk as the tears ran down, the left leg of his jeans as well as a portion of his jacket and face soaked in blood. Blues quietly stepped outside to meet Rock, his back turned away, and set her hand on his shoulder. The hand felt warm to him.. so he raised his head and met her deep blue eyes as he fought to hold back the tears, managing a few sniffles as she spoke "Rock... will you let your father go unavenged?" Rock shook his head as his red eyes lowered into a state of anger again "Then, Rock Howard, take this with you" Rock pondered for a moment why she addressed him by his first and last name but quickly let it drop as he reached his hand out. Blues reached into her pocket and placed what appeared to be a ticket. "Take it... With this you'll be able to get off of Keroponas and travel to planet Earth. The shuttle is a mile or so to the north of here and it takes off in about 5 minutes, so if you're serious about revenge.... run like you've never ran before. Now go, quickly!" Rock nodded, took the ticket, and picked up his bag, rounding at the street corner and taking off down the road. His eyebrows clinched as he spotted the figure from before round a corner immediately after spotting him, and after he took off in the same direction he realized that she was headed for the shuttle... he wondered if he'd catch her on board as he dashed off, nothing but the few dollars in his pockets and the ticket in his fist. She was amazingly fast, she had already gone out of view among the machinery at the base of the shuttle a long distance away, but his hate and anger was enough to speed up his usual running and get him to the shuttle before it took off. 


	2. Faux

Recap: Rock's father is dead. His heart and mind boil with anger and hate as he finally reaches the shuttle that will take him to Earth, where he will either continue his search for his father's killer... or turn her in. If he doesn't manage to get himself into even bigger trouble, of course.  
  
Chapter Two: Faux  
  
Rock ran as fast as he could to the small ladder that led up the steps up of the shuttle as the loud intercom voice called out 'Last call, shuttle 4377 for Earth, last call'. The automated doors began to shut as Rock flung himself from the second-to-last step through the door of the shuttle in an impressive martial arts roll, breathing heavily as a man in steward's uniform offered to help him to his feet. Rock looked up to the man and took his hand, pulling himself up to his feet as the man inquired "Sir... might I see your ticket?" Rock nodded as he released his clenched fist, revealing the crumpled ticket. The man grumbled for a minute as he scanned it through the small slot in the wall to confirm it's authenticity before handing it back to him. "Enjoy your trip, sir." Rock nodded as he took his ticket back and opened the door in front of him. The room was only about 10x10 feet, and it was only a small checking room before allowing passengers access to the main lobby. He stepped through the door and what a lobby it was... the floor was exquisitely carpeted with light blue and gold embroidery. The entire room was a circular shape, and although the ceiling was fairly high, the extraordinary breadth of the room gave it more of a horizontal orientation. A stylish round-shaped counter on the left served as a bar, and the rest of the room was decorated with various tables, chairs, and couches. It was pretty obvious by his speedy entrance into the shuttle that he was the last one aboard, so there weren't any free seats except for one at a small table meant for two.  
  
There was a girl sitting there, fairly young, and she was fiddling with a small handheld computer as Rock came up to the table and accompanied her at the opposite end of the table. He didn't say hello... he avoided direct eye contact and he spent most of the time fidgeting with his cuffs.. he found the girl rather cute and just looking at her made him want to take a sip of the glass of water that sat on the table. The young girl looked up to him with eyes of scarlet, brushing back some of her long red hair back over her shoulder as she impatiently laid down her handheld computer and stylus "Kid.. what are you doing here? Can't you see I'm busy?" Rock was getting quite nervous now, and he eyed the screen briefly before looking down at his lap "Sorry, ma'am.. I'll go" He started to push his seat back to stand as the girl let out a sigh of frustration, half-muttering "It's ok, kid.. you can sit" Rock quietly complied as the girl went back to her computer "Shit.. it's gone up again" The girl's demeanor became agitated and angry for several moment before she looked up to her table partner "So, kid... got a name? Or should I keep calling you kid?" Rock zipped and unzipped his cuffs nervously as he quietly replied "I'm Rock.." The girl touched her screen a few times with the stylus "Rock, huh?" "Yes'm, Rock Howard" At the mention of this, the girl set to work typing a few letters into the computer, and after a few moments of looking over the screen she grinned and closed it up, laying it on the table "No kidding... Howard, huh?" Rock nodded, quickly took the water from the table, drunk nerviously, and set it back down, accidentally setting his glass down on thin air and dropping it to the floor. He was just getting ready to pick it up when the girl sighed and said "Let me do it, you look pretty tired." She bent over to pick it up and as she set it on the table she pondered quietly, her chin in her hand. Rock blinked at her twice but she was lost in her own world. He leaned a bit closer to her and waved his hand in front of her eyes a few times "Miss?" The girl shook her head once and met eye contact with him "Hey, kid... you got blood all over you, you ok?" All Rock could do was nod as his eyes began a rather abnormal feat.. they changed color, on the spot. The red shade faded away, leaving a pale gray with the faintest hint of blue "My father was killed." This put the girl into a visible state of anxiety as she dug into her pocket and presented Rock with a few dollars "You're probably not in the best mood kid, go get yourself a drink.. on me." He nodded quietly, took the money, and left the girl to herself again as he stepped quietly to the impressively crafted marble counter.  
  
It reminded him of postmodern art, the way the curve of the bar seemed thickest at the center. He pulled up a seat and just sighed looking at his reflection in the bar. The barkeep came to him, no one else to tend to, as he said "Wow, kid.. you look majorly wiped. Let me get you a free martini." Even though there weren't any laws restricting drinking age, Rock never cared much for alcohol.. He didn't object though, just drank it quietly as he looked at the pale blue marble.  
  
Back at the table, the girl watched him as she took out her headset and plugged it into her handheld computer. She promptly dialed in a phone number on the screen and spoke in a hushed voice as the other end picked up the phone "Galaxy Police? I'd like to report a murder..." A grin that could only be described as pure evil came to her face as she repeated the operator's inquiry "The victim? His name is..." She tried to not laugh out loud as she plainly stated "Geese Howard. The killer was Rock Howard.. he's on shuttle 4377 headed for Earth. He hasn't had a chance to change since the murder, he's still soaked in the victim's blood." And with that, she pulled out her headset and hung up. She knew the GP would pull up the shuttle number to see where it had taken off from and what it's path should be, so they wouldn't have any trouble finding it. In fact, if she was lucky, they'd have a unit nearby and Rock could be out of her hair soon. She tapped her fingers against her thigh as she spent the better half of an hour waiting for the familiar sound of the GP cruiser docking to the shuttle, but it still didn't come.  
  
Throughout this whole time, Rock had been sitting at the bar pondering "I don't even know what she looks like.. except the red hair." He quickly noted that the girl he had sat with had red hair, and turned and looked at her, but there were plenty of women in the rest of the lobby with red hair, some of them even close to the killer's height. He spent a few moments thinking about the shuttle 'These new stabilized transports are really nice... couldn't even feel the take-off.' He turned his attention back to his martini, the third one, as he just looked at it. All of a sudden the drink fell from his hand and the glass shattered on the ground as a loud rumbling shook the room. He turned and looked at the entrance door as a girl with turquoise hair busted through the door and charged directly at him, her laser pistol raised "Galaxy Police Officer Kiyone! You're under arrest for the first-degree murder of Geese Howard!" Before Rock could object, he was clubbed in the forehead with the barrel of the gun and knocked unconscious. The girl dragged him from the shuttle into her cruiser without another word and undocked, taking off in hyperspace to her destination, the Mars prison. 


	3. Bust

Recap: With Rock now apprehended by Galaxy Police Officer Kiyone, his troubles have gone from finding that damned murderer to just getting himself out of this mess in one piece! How'd he let that slippery killer slip right out from under him, anyway?  
  
Chapter Three: Bust  
  
Rock groaned as he laid face down on what he deemed to be an extremely cold and uncomfortable surface. His senses were bombarded as an extremely unpleasant odor filled his nose, the floor was cold to his touch, and his eyes were having a hard time focusing as they slowly opened and say nothing but a large haze of grey. He pulled himself up to sit as his eyes struggled to focus. He looked to his right and saw the bars of his cell. Rock's head was pounding and he groaned as he turned to the left, seeing a young boy with dark blue eyes and brownish-blond hair sitting on the bed. Rock blinked at the boy, and he blinked back. Rock's cell partner had a red shirt and a blue denim jacket, and his baggy khakis bunched up at his shoes. The boy fixed his jacket as Rock pulled himself up to sit on the bed and spoke in an almost unfitting cheerful voice "Hi! My name's Jim, Jim Hawking. What brings you to our cell?" Rock was still looking down trying to get his bearings as he questioned "Our...?" Jim nodded "Yeah, he's with us, too" And with that Rock looked up to the man that sat on the bed across from him. He was very muscular, he was bald save for his black beard; and he had a small, odd, piece of metal under his right eye that curved upward slightly. The main thing that caught Rock's attention was his left arm. It was metallic. Rock spoke in a lowered voice, the man was clearly very powerful and he had no idea what kind of people he was sharing a cell with... like prison's the best place to meet friendly people, anyway "Uh... hello, sir.." The man puffed a cigarette he had sneaked a while back, and he took it from his lips and held it between his fingers as he replied "Don't call me 'sir'. The name's Jet." "Ok, si... um, Jet." Rock's entire body was full of pain. He hadn't had much time to recover from his desert walk before he ran a mile in five minutes. And after that he was knocked senseless with a laser pistol. Being in a cold, dingy cell didn't help his situation, but he was glad to FINALLY be able to rest.. if for only a few moments. Opposite to the wall that was the end of the cell, there was a man with red hair finishing lining explosive charges.....  
  
Outside the prison's main entrance, a man with bushy green hair was finishing locking and loading his rifle. At his feet, a small brown Welsh Corgi panted excitedly. The man shushed at him "Keep it quiet, Ein. We're gonna get busted before we even get in there if you keep breathing that loud." The dog growled a bit and sat quietly, waiting for his partner to finish placing his grenades on the inside of his jacket. Ein looked at him with an almost 'who's running this operation?' sort of look as he waited.  
  
Inside the cell, Jet and Rock were discussing while Jim snored on the bed. "So, Rock.. how'd you get all that blood on you? And did you say your last name was Howard?" Rock nodded "Yes, Mr. Jet, it is." "Well, that's funny.. I used to have an old bounty hunting buddy way back, maybe you two are related somehow." "Maybe we are, Jet.. what was his name?" "His name was Geese." "Oh... that's my dad..." "Your dad? Well.. that's great kid, your pop and I go back a long way. So, you never did answer my question.. what's with all the blood?" "It's my dad's... he's dead." This visibly upset Jet, taking a long hard drag on his cig as he looked Rock in the eyes "So, Rock... I guess the guy that killed him landed the rap on you and got you in here too, huh?" "It was a girl that did it..." Jet quirked an eyebrow as Jim turned in his sleep "Girl, huh? What'd she look like?" "I don't know... a little shorter than me.. red hair.. red eyes. I saw her without her cloak.. but I could barely look at her. Girls make me nervous." Jet grinned a bit at his last line as he seemed to be thinking about something "Maybe you're after her, too.." "Too? You mean you know who killed my dad?" Jet let out a sigh "Well, there's a bounty on her. Damn high, too. Went looking for her, but she gave me the slip. Landed me in here, slippery little devil." Rock could see that Jet was distraught... he spoke more quietly than before "Sir? How did you know my dad?" Jet spoke up a bit, trying to hide his sadness "Well, it all started back when..."  
  
The clip was locked in place.  
  
The timer was at 30 seconds.  
  
The bushy-haired man was now with his back against the prison's main entrance. The red-haired man was in hiding waiting for the explosives. The bushy-haired man took a radio from his pocket and quietly said 'Faye? I'm going in. Get the Red Tail ready.' A quick reply 'Sure thing, Spike.' and he was ready. Spike quickly turned and kicked the door open, his automatic rifle aimed squarely at the main desk and the armed guard that sat there boredly, playing solitare. The guard looked up and met Spike's gaze. He didn't wait to ask questions, but quickly stood and attempted to draw his own rifle. Spike quickly plugged him in the chest with two shots, the loud blasts tearing straight through his armor in small holes and blowing out the back in blotchy, bloody messes that stained the wall with small pieces of flesh and streaks of blood from where the man fell against the wall and slid down to the floor. The loud bangs and muzzle flashes caught Jet's and Rock's attention, and Jim stirred in his sleep a bit. They watched as guards ran past their cells, and heard more blasts accompanied with the sounds of yells and falling bodies. Spike aimed expertly from his position, he had no cover but his aim was fast enough. Soon there weren't any guards close enough to get in his way, so he quickly ran down the cell aisle and found Jet's and Rock's cell "Jet! Come on, we gotta go! And who's the..." his question was interrupted by a deafening blast and the sounds of rubble falling. Jim sprung to his feet and looked at the gaping hole that now replaced the cell's far wall. "Gene!" Jim called out as the red-haired man stepped into view from the cloud of dust "Jim! Come on, we gotta go and now!" Jim nodded and looked to Rock "Say, Rock, wanna come with us?" Rock looked to Jim, then at Jet. Spike had just finished picking the lock, so Jet stood for just a moment longer, waiting for Rock's answer. It was clear to him that Jet knew his father... he could probably help him in his search "Sorry, Jim.. I think I'm going to go with Jet" and with that, he as well as Jet and Spike ran through the aisle and out the door.  
  
To Rock's amazement, just outside the building there was a small circular craft that resembled some type of futuristic helicopter without blades being towed behind a larger, rather ugly pale brown craft. Spike clambered into the larger aircraft and detached the winch that dragged the smaller Red Tail, and Jet hopped into the custom seat next to Faye in it. Rock blinked as the cockpit opened, revealing an extremely attractive woman with violet hair and and yellow hot pants. Rock had already taken up blushing when she yelled over the roar of the craft "Hurry up and get in!" He nodded and climbed up into her lap, looking at the prison building as it started to get lower, the Red Tail taking off. Then the machine gun fire started. 


	4. Rough Landing, Warm Welcome

Recap: With Spike's rescue of Jet and Rock, he takes off into higher orbit as Faye gives Rock and Jet a lift. They come under attack as they attempt to make good their escape, so it's up to Faye's piloting skills to get them off of Mars alive.  
  
Chapter Four: Rough Landing, Warm Welcome  
  
Rock looked down at the prison building as the Red Tail started to lift off, his ears pounding at the sound of machine gun fire. He could see a single turret gun on the roof, and the bullets shooting from it were cutting through the Red Tail's plating with little effort. Jet called out over the drowning sound of gunfire "Faye! Get us out of here!" Faye furrowed her brow in concentration, working the flight stick expertly despite having a young boy in her lap as she dipped the Red Tail to the right, then in reverse in a sudden rush of speed as she tried her best to parry and dodge the hail of bullets. Suddenly the sound of a quick blast was heard, and a white trail could be seen closing quickly in the Red Tail's direction. Rock didn't know what to make of the trail, but Faye knew exactly what it was "Missile!" she yelled as she tried to pitche the craft downward, but it was too late. The missile hit the Red Tail and blasted the cockpit open. The Red Tail lurched downward as it started to plunge into the forest underneath; Rock cried out as he felt the superheated air burn at his skin, and fell unconscious several moments after feeling a torn-off shard of metal pierce his skin through the back of his neck.  
  
The moonlight shone dimly over the landscape as Rock slowly opened his eyes, laying on his back in a small grass-covered clearing. He tried to look down to see what was at his feet, but his neck was tightly bandaged. He wondered how long he had been unconscious, or what time it was for that matter. He heard some clanking to his left so he turned to look and saw Jet, fiddling with some components inside the Red Tail's remains. Jet sighed as Rock sat up and looked to him "Jet? What's wrong?" Jet turned his attention to Rock and flatly stated "The cockpit's busted. I've already called Spike, he's on his way. But with an exposed cockpit, we're gonna be coughing' up our insides as soon as we get in space." Rock thought for a moment "And there's no way to fix it?" Jet's eyes looked past Rock for a moment then back to him "There's supposed to be a pressure shelter capsule secured on the bottom, but guess who forgot to check the locks?" "Speaking of which.. where is that lady, anyway?" Jet grinned a bit "Faye's no lady, and she's right beside you." Rock noticed for the first time that something was pressed against him. He turned to see Faye, her face about an inch from his, her eyes closed in sleep. His cheeks flushed with red and his eyes widened as he sprung to his feet, Jet chuckling a bit to himself. Rock turned to Jet as he caught his breath "So where's the pressure shelter capsule?" He had no idea what a pressure shelter capsule was, but he played along, figuring it was self-explanatory "I'm guessing it came off after that missile blast." And with that Rock took off into the woods. Jet was just about to call out for him to come back, but he decided against it. He had to wait for Spike to come with his Hammerhead, and waking up Faye to do work isn't the smarest idea there is. Jet sighed and kicked back, lighting up a cig as he waited for Rock. As Jet was waiting, he couldn't help but pass the time remembering when he had seen Rock before. It was at a martial arts tournament, he had been in the crowd so he went unnoticed. He remembered watching Rock and his father in the True Fighter 2-on-2 tournament last year. All the tournaments Geese competed in were underground, and he wondered what kind of elaborate tale he had spun in order to get Rock to compete with him. Jet had been told all about Rock from Geese, so he knew that Rock was always trying to do the right thing, but he wondered if going by the law was more important to him than what his father would wish for. He entertained these thoughts further as he waited for Rock to get back.  
  
"This sucks. Why'd I offer to look for that stupid capsule when I'm tired... and hungry... and sore? I should be home in bed watching Terry kick butt." Rock grumbled as he walked through the dark forest, undoing the uncomfortable bandage that held his neck in place. The wound didn't bleed, and the gentle wind soothed his injury, so he decided to just drop the bandage as he walked. He had barely gone 6 feet when a familar figure wrapped in a cloak leaped down from a tree branch. Rock heard her land, and he quickly turned and looked at her. She let her hood down, her long red hair gently billowing to her left hand side. Rock narrowed his eyes, trying to see her face, but she stood with her back to the moon, so the shadows hid her face. He knew it was her, though.. he knew he was standing face to face with his father's killer. His mind raced as he gazed at the shadow that hid her face. Was she controlling the gun sentry that shot them down? Why did she kill his father in the first place? And why didn't she just go to Earth instead of following him to Mars? His eyes widened a bit as the last question struck a chord in him as he quietly whispered "She's come to kill me.." And with that she sprung into action.  
  
She dashed forward at him with incredible speed, and just as Rock had leaned back into his fighting stance and extended his leg outward in a side-kick, she sidestepped it in the direction of his back and drove her elbow hard into his spine, dropping him to both his knees. He let out a loud groan as he stopped his fall with his hands, hearing the familiar sound of a dagger being pulled from it's sheath. On a hunch he rolled to the side, looking to her as she plunged it into the dirt, missing her target. Rock quickly brought his knee towards her, snapping his lower leg out and connecting with her wrist, sending the dagger flying. He attempted to follow-through into a sweep kick but she jumped over it and brought both her legs down onto his knee, a quick and sharp 'crack!' resonating through the night air as she did. Rock had gotten himself into an awkward position, he had his right leg out, the one that got landed on, and he had his weight on his left leg as if he was sitting on his heels. Rock cried out as he brought his fist out to connect with her stomach, but she caught his fist and a 'cr-crk!' echoed through the dark blue sky. He seethed with pain as the dark and warm blood ran slowly from under his clenched fist, dripping through his fingers and hitting the forest ground under him. His attacker let out a low snicker as she tightened her grip on his fist, crushing the knuckles further. Rock yelled and groaned, the cumulative pain from the entire day was finally taking a toll on him. His legs were too weak to kick, and his entire body was starting to feel limp as he could also feel blood running down his lower leg. His eyelids began to feel heavy, and as she drew her dagger back to her hand from where it had fallen with a simple magic spell, he knew he was too weak to fight back. He knew he was too tired to counter the blade that as he drifted to unconsciousness had already started to ease itself towards his throat. He closed his eyes as a single tear fell from his left eye "Father, I'm sorry..." His attacker grinned as her blade gently prodded the skin of his neck. Rock could still feel the arm around his back that kept him from falling, she had dropped his crushed hand in favor of her blade and it was now touched to his skin. And as he drifted into his deep and endless sleep, he wouldn't feel the blade that had just started to cut the side of his neck, just under his ear. He wouldn't hear the gunshots. 


	5. Bebop

Recap: After the Red Tail gets shot down, Rock confronts his father's killer. Just as he slips out of the conscious realm, gunshots break the moonlit calm.  
  
Chapter Five: Bebop  
  
The sharp pain of falling to the ground brought Rock's eyes open again, but he was far from alert. He pulled himself to his feet, looking about dazedly. The only thing he saw was Jet, his handgun with its smoking barrel raised in Rock's direction. Jet had seen 'her' when he pulled the trigger; but as soon as he had fired she vanished, letting Rock fall. Jet saw a quick shadow from behind a tree, but his gun didn't respond. Repeated pulls of the trigger and nothing happened. "Rock! Get out of there!" Jet called as he ran to Rock's aid. Rock swiveled on his left foot and saw her closing on him quickly, her dagger clutched tightly in her right hand. Even though Rock's body was completely exhausted, even though every muscle in his body burned, even though the only thing he wanted was to lay down and rest; he charged directly at her, and as soon as his attacker thrust her dagger at him, it was Rock's turn to vanish out of thin air. As soon as he reappeared behind her, his crushed right hand suddenly began to cover itself in violet flame. All he said was "Repuuken!" as he flung his arm at her, a small wave of energy sliding along the ground and into her leg, exploding in a small purple charge. She let out a low grunt at the impact and ran off into the forest, deciding it for the best to come back for him some other time when her knew technique was perfected . Jet had stopped running and stood completely still as soon as he saw Rock disappear, and Rock grinned weakly at Jet, giving him a thumbs-up. And with that, his knees gave and he fell over limply. Hitting the ground wouldn't wake him up this time. Jet walked to Rock and thought to himself as he picked him up "He's got the moves... he's Geese's boy, all right."  
  
Hours passed aboard the Bebop, the large ship that housed all the craft of it's crew. Rock lay sleeping quietly and peacefully on a bed, a young girl with short red hair, a loose white tank top, and dark spandex shorts staring at him with unwarranted attentiveness. In the small living area, Spike and Faye were arguing with Jet over what to do with Rock. "Jet," Spike argued "We don't have the money to keep this kid on board.. the last thing we need on this ship is another mouth to feed! Why not just give him a few woolong and drop him off on Earth?" "Yeah," Faye added, "We oughta just drop him off, he's not worth anything to us." Jet's expression grew fierce at this as he stood up "Listen to you two! This isn't some lowlife we're talkin' about, it's a little kid! For all we know, he's lost the last of his family and he's got nothing left. You want to just turn your back on him? Huh!? Do ya!?" Jet took a moment to relax before continuing "Look... he's just a kid. We turn him away and we're signing his death warrant. He's got nowhere to go. No family at all.. no one."  
  
Some time later, the three of them, now accompanied by a sleeping Ein, all sat pondering quietly with cigarettes between their middle and forefingers. They had spent an hour and half of another one discussing Rock and now they all reflected quietly on what to do. Rock had yet to see it, for he was still unconscious, but the Bebop was now in space. That endless sea of stars, laying calmly against its dark backdrop was always one of Rock's favorite things to look at. Being in space was one of the things he had always wanted to do. He lay sleeping as Jet, Spike, Faye, and Ein still sat in the living area. The silence lingered in the air with the cigarette smoke for several more minutes before Jet spoke again "Guys.. we CAN'T leave him on Earth. He's got no family and no money." Spike's and Faye's reasoning for wanting Rock off the Bebop was mostly money-related, and they knew there was nothing that could be said to change Jet's mind when he felt strongly about something. Faye and Spike sighed in unison before agreeing with an unenthusiastic 'alright'. "Besides," Jet added, "This kid's dad is Geese Howard, top bounty hunter. He's dead now, and the girl that did it got the rap pinned on Rock." "So.." Spike finished Jet's sentence for him, "... he'll have a bounty on him." Jet nodded "And we got to keep him safe until we clear this whole mess up." The three nodded together, it was decided. Rock was going to stay with them on the Bebop.  
  
12 hours had gone by since the Bebop had taken off with Rock aboard, but he still showed no signs of awakening. Jet and Faye stood at the doorway, looking at him with concern. "Do you think he's dead?" Faye asked, not for much more reason other than to break the uneasy silence of waiting for the boy to awaken. "Of course not, Faye. Stop being so danged obnoxious." Faye let out a 'pfft' at Jet before boredly meandering away, leaving Jet at the doorway alone to look at Rock. A few minutes went by, then a half hour, then an hour, and Rock still lay unmoving on the bed. Jet let out a low sigh and went to join Spike in a game of canasta.  
  
Outside the Bebop, a very small single-man ship was attached to the large transport via a small harpoon. Inside the craft, a pair of red eyes looked sternly on the large craft. Needless to say, several long strands of red hair obscured the owner's vision, but she remained unmoving. "Soon enough," she spoke quietly to herself, "I'll have him out of my way." 


	6. Return To Keroponas

Recap: After the Red Tail gets shot down, Rock confronts his father's killer. Just as he slips out of the conscious realm, gunshots break the moonlit calm.  
  
Chapter Six: Return To Keroponas  
  
Spike and Faye now slept in their respective beds. Ein snoozed on the couch, having woken up briefly a few hours before. Everything was perfectly still aboard the Bebop. Jet and the spandex-shorts clad girl sat looking at Rock; Jet had taken a seat on an armchair, and the girl stared at Rock intently. Her concentration hadn't wavered in the slightest over the past fourteen hours. Jet's mouth and hands were free of any matter of cigarette, deeming it best if the unconscious Rock didn't inhale the smoke. "Ed," Jet finally said after a few moments, "what are you doing just staring at that boy? Don't you have anything better to do?" The girl, Ed, stayed where she was at the foot of the bed, still staring at Rock with her wide and bright orange eyes in a position that could only be described as being prepared to pounce. Jet walked over to Ed and picked her up, but she was amazingly stiff and still, and sat like a statue as Jet carried her out of the room, dropping her in the hall before reentering the room and closing the door. Once the door was secure, he went to the side of the bed and sat by Rock. Time seemed to take forever for Jet, minutes dragged on and on and one hour felt like six as he waited, looking at Rock.  
  
More time passed, and Rock's right hand clenched into a loose fist. "Rock?" Jet questioned, "You awake?" Rock's eyes slowly opened, revealing that his eye color had changed once again. Now his eyes were a dark slate gray. His head slowly turned to meet Jet's eyes, a low groan escaping him "Guess so.." he murmured, his entire body feeling like it had been hit by a train that stopped and went in reverse to run him over again. "Rock," Jet began, "I'm going to tell you flat-out... you have a bounty on you now. You're an outlaw." Rock was clearly very surprised by this, sitting up, the blanket falling to his waist, his bare upper body exposed. "But.. why? I didn't do anything wrong.." "I know you didn't, Rock.. but the girl that killed your dad's got the blame pinned on you." And with that, Jet pulled out his own handheld computer. He accessed the bounty hunters' website and pulled up the 'Recent Additions' page. And there he was.  
  
Name: Rock Howard  
Birthdate: Sep. 12, 2086  
Age: 12 years, 3 months, 1 day  
Gender: Male  
Natural hair color: Blond  
Natural eye color: Red/brown  
Height: 5'3"  
Charges: First-degree murder of class S-3 bounty hunter  
Escape of level-4 security detainment facility  
Boarding civilian transport with fraudulent passport/ticket  
Theft of legal documents  
Reward: US $945,320.50 or equivalent foreign currency  
  
"But.." Rock pleaded aloud, almost to himself "I didn't kill my father... and I didn't steal Blues' ticket.." Rock stopped his train of thought in an instant. "Wait a minute..." All of a sudden his mind raced. When Blues stepped out of the bar to meet him, why did she offer him a ticket to Earth as the solution? He hadn't stopped to think of it at the time but now it seemed like something was off; it didn't sit right with him now. Did Blues know something that Rock didn't? Or, even worse, was she working with the girl that killed Geese? If Jet was saying anything to Rock, he was completely ignoring it, concentrating on the connection between Blues and the killer. He didn't really know who she was, but she seemed to be friendly with his father. Was she pretending the whole time? Did she want him dead? He thought for several long minutes before finally deciding that he had to talk to Blues again. "Jet!" Rock called out, not noticing that Jet was right in front of him "Where are we headed!?" "Nowhere in particular right now," Jet replied. "We HAVE to go back to Keroponas... there's someone there I have to talk to." "Well.." Jet pondered, "It's not like we have anywhere else to go. Sure. I'll talk Spike and Faye into it and we'll get you where you need to be." So Jet stood and headed out the door, leaving Rock to himself. As he headed down the hall he grinned and said to himself, "Just like his dad."  
  
As Rock was waiting in the room he had been placed in, he checked his watch boredly.  
  
9:47 PM Earth time North American Eastern Standard Time  
Saturday, December 13th, 2098  
  
After he knew the time and date, he laid down on the bed and looked out his window at all the stars. 'They really are beautiful...' he thought to himself as the transport once again headed to Keroponas.  
  
Upon their arrival, the Bebop touched down just outside the same nameless town where Geese had been murdered. Rock clambered down the steps enthusiastically, not minding the usual strong desert heat. He found the gravel roads, slate sidewalks, and musty heat all too familiar as he dashed down the city blocks, anxious to find Blues once again. He quickly found the swinging saloon-style doors and slowed to a walk, casually stepping in. A quick glance at the corner stage and he saw nothing. Seeing this, Rock stepped over to the girl behind the counter and sat up on the stool. "Excuse me? Miss?" The young 17-year-old turned from reading the bottles boredly to meet the eyes of the young boy that drew her attention. "Yes?" she spoke in a gentle voice, "May I help you?" Rock once again grew nervous and agitated, feeling hot and sweaty despite his unusually strong tolerance for heat "Yeah... um.. I was wondering if your performer Blues was anywhere around here?" "Blues.." the girl spoke softly to herself, her long strands of dark navy blue falling over her green eyes. "I think she moved out." "Really?" Rock asked, "Where to?" "If I remember correctly..." the girl responded "I think I remember her mentioning moving to Ganymeade.." "What's a Ganymeade?" "One of Jupiter's moons," the girl replied, "You know, where they have that great sea food! Their Rock Lobster is to die for." At that moment, Jet, Spike, and Faye all moseyed their way into the bar.   
  
As soon as the three had entered the bar, every sitting man in the bar was instantly on their feet. Within an instant, every last one of them had their personal handgun of choice drawn and aimed at either Spike, Jet, or Faye. The sound of safeties clicking off could be heard all around, until every gun in the bar was ready to fire. Spike, Faye, and Jet (accompanied by Rock, of course) all dove behind the bar counter at the sight of this, closely pursued by horizontal lead rain. The young bartender girl joined them as well, after the mandatory shrill squeak of a yell. Without a word, Jet and Spike both drew handguns of their own, Faye herself presenting an impressive submachine gun - or rather, the parts of it at least- from under her blouse, and quickly snapped together the four pieces. She obviously felt very proud of her custom-removable firepower in the midst of only handguns. She put a cigarette to her lips and had it lit with the speed of a regular smoker, pulling her shades over her eyes and looking over at her companions that shared her hiding place with an I'm-about-to-kick-all-their-asses little smirk on her face. And with that, she stood to face the shooting attackers with an intimidating battlecry, her compact machine gun spitting out 700 rounds of 9mm sized death every minute.  
  
Unknown to any of the Bebop's crew, the small craft that had been attached to the Bebop via cable was now securely fastened on the topside of the massive craft, near the rear. Only someone climbing the ship to do maintenance would see it, or, less likely, a nearby passing aircraft. Within the small attached ship, a young assassin girl was starting to get fed up of being either in space or in a situation where Rock wasn't alone. She wanted to kill him quickly, but there always seemed to be someone with him. "No matter," she spoke aloud, "... the right time will come soon. And then... no one will save him from me." 


	7. Western Style

Recap: Rock's search for Blues leads him and the Bebop crew back to Keroponas. Blues is gone, but a large group of gun-wielding outlaws isn't and they're ready to greet Rock and co. to the business end of their revolvers.  
  
Chapter Seven: Western Style   
  
"Geez, Faye!" Spike yelled over the gunfire that swamped their hiding place, "Seven hundred rounds a minute and not a single hit!" "I'd like to see you do better, numbskull!" Faye shot back at him, working on getting her machine gun reloaded. Spike grinned and held up his handgun. "You got it." He motioned to Jet with his head and Jet nodded. They both stood, turned to face their targets, and fired away, each bullet scoring a clean body hit. The bar's wooden floor quickly filled with blood spatters and sprawled bodies, some still writhing and groaning with pain as Jet and Spike's expert marksmanship continued to rain down their bullets. Faye frowned at the sounds of screams and groans, not so much because they bothered her, but because she knew she was being showed-up by Jet and Spike. She looked to her left, the bartender girl covering her head with fear sat trembling next to Faye, looking genuinely frightened. Faye then looked to her right and saw Rock, a sad look on his face as he zipped and unzipped the left cuff of his red jacket. "Hey kid.." Faye questioned, "... Aren't you afraid?" Rock looked up at Faye, his eyes now back to their original ruby red color as he gazed at her. Faye returned his gaze with her own green eyes, showing a faint hint of concern beneath her guise of bad-assedness. "The worst that could happen is for me to see my dad again.." Faye felt lucky all of a sudden to still have her shades over her eyes. If she hadn't, Rock would have seen her eyes well with tears at the sincerity of his sorrow. She felt luckier when she heard the click of her clip in place, and promptly drew her eyes away from Rock and stood up, spitting out more bullets at the attackers. Rock watched as Faye, Jet, and Spike all returned to hiding under the bar; shuffling to the far end away from Rock and the bartender girl.   
  
All of a sudden the entire bar fell silent.. there wasn't a sound to be heard, save for a few shuffling bodies. Rock decided that this whole affair was taking too damned long, so decided to sneak a peek over the edge of the bar counter. As soon as he did, the four men that hadn't been disabled by Jet's and Spike's shooting all flung themselves at Rock, knocking him to the ground and proceeding to kick and punch at his fallen body as he struggled to stand. Jet and the others quickly noted this, and immediately began to close on Rock's assailants. They had barely taken a step when they heard from Rock, "Raising A..." Rock's hands, both of them, suddenly became coated in a mysterious dark purple flame, the embers coating each palm and all the fingers. The sudden pain Rock felt all over his upper body and face was too much to bear, and his reaction to such punishment was the only attack at his disposal that was inherited. "STOOOORM!" Both of Rock's hands slammed into the bar's wooden floor, and as soon as he did, something breathtaking happened.  
  
From his hands, a large spiraling tunnel of violet flames sprung upwards, spiraling flares of intense heat consuming all four of Rock's attackers. A few quick death yells, desperate flailings of arms, and eyes-burnt-to-small-black-dots later, all four of them were dead; suspended above Rock by the amazing tower of violet flame he summoned. A few moments later, Rock raised his hands from the floor, cutting off the attack. The burnt bodies and the mangled flesh that clung loosely to them were sent hurdling through the gaping 8-foot diameter hole that now adorned the bar's roof. A few moments after THAT, a few thudding bodies could be heard slamming into the roof above, making a few rather unnerving splatter and cracking sounds with their impacts. Faye, Jet, and Spike were all frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at Rock who now lay on his back, gasping for breath. After a few more moments of standing-there-staring-at-who-knows-what-the-hell-just-happened, Rock pulled himself to his feet, hobbling a bit from the pain in his sides, but managing to stay on his feet. A few blinks later, Rock took the moment to explain "That's my father's attack... I can't use it on my own.. it's kinda like instinct, you know?" Obviously, NONE of them knew, for they had never seen anything like that, but they nodded anyway.  
  
Jet was the first to snap out of his daze, and the first thing he did was to reach his hand down and pull the bartender girl to her feet "Spike," Jet spoke in a fairly angry sounding tone of voice. "Why don't you take Rock back to the Bebop? I think me and Faye have a few.." he cocked his handgun ".. questions for this little girl here." Spike nodded, his bushy dark green hair swaying slightly "Sure thing. Come on, Rock." And with that, the two left Faye and Jet to their 'business'.  
  
Spike and Rock both took slow, lazy steps as they shuffled their was towards the Bebop. "Why'd we have to come down so far?" Spike mumbled to himself, wiping some of the sweat from his forehead. The air was dry and extremely hot, and this made Spike even more uncomfortable in his casual blue suit. Rock found the heat unpleasant himself, but, as usual, he refused to take off his red jacket. A few steps later, they could both hear the loud whirring of a spaceship, and before long, they were both watching a large cruiser land right in front of them. With the sound of a pneumatic door opening; out came a fairly tall unfamiliar man with stringy red hair, at his side a younger boy with a blue denim jacket, red shirt, and large khakis. Rock recognized the boy immediately, "Jim!" he called, he and Spike now both stopped and standing a fair distance from the ship. "Don't 'Jim' me," was his reply, "I already know all about what you did. Let me introduce you to my friend here. Gene Starwind, Class-AA bounty hunter." With that, he motioned to his tall companion, glaring at Rock with his stern eyes. Both he and Jim held pistols in hand, and the angered expression in their eyes clearly denoted what they intended to do. Spike tossed Rock a handgun, which he promptly picked up and aimed at Jim, Spike taking aim at Gene. "Jim!" Rock pleaded. "Don't make me shoot you!" Gene and Jim both raised their handguns at their respective targets, the silence of the four standing figures broken only by an occasional strong wind. They all stood without saying a word, their reasons for not blasting away at each other known only to them. Had there been any spectators in the area, they would have immediately sensed the strong tension in the air. The silence was finally broken when Gene Starwind fired the first shot. His voice was laced with arrogance as he hit Spike directly in the left shoulder, dropping Spike to one knee "Get down, moron"; and Rock responded to this by turning his handgun to Gene and scoring a hit right over the heart. He was dead before his body collapsed into the sand in front of him. "Gene!" Jim cried, unloading his pistol on Rock. Seeing Gene die right in front of him was too much to bear, and his sudden rush of sadness increased his inability to maintain the recoil under control, so he missed all shots except one that just barely grazed the side of his stomach. While Jim had been frantically firing away, Rock had lined up a perfect headshot which he took now, squeezing the trigger with the sight aimed right between Jim's eyes. The hail of gunshots stopped immediately, and he fell to the sand with his partner. Gene Starwind and Jim Hawking were both dead. Rock walked to Spike, who looked at him with wide green eyes. 'How can he just kill two people like that without it affecting him?' Spike thought to himself as Rock helped him to his feet. And with that, the two walked the rest of the way to the Bebop without another word. 


	8. The Ganymeade Blues

Recap: After the Keroponas bar had been cleaned up and Rock displayed his impressive Raising-A-Storm, Spike and Rock came across Gene and Jim. They were only a brief interruption, and it didn't take long before Spike and Rock got back to where they were headed, the Bebop. So how long is that girl going to stay stuck to the Bebop, anyway?  
  
Chapter Eight: The Ganymeade Blues  
  
"I promise I don't know what you're talking about!" The bartender girl pleaded, tied to a stool by the legs and held at gunpoint by Jet and Faye. Faye blew a bit of her somewhat-dark purple hair out of her green eyes as she grumbled to Jet "Come on, Jet.. we've been trying to get this girl to say something for fifteen minutes already! I think she'd have told us something by now." Jet growled and holstered his pistol. "Fine.. we're gonna let you go now, girl. But if we find anything, and I do mean ANYTHING that shows you've got something to do with those guys shootin' at us, we WILL come after you. Got it?" The girl nodded frightfully as Jet released her restraints, after which she promptly- if somewhat clumsily- ran out of the bar.  
  
Spike sat staring at Rock as if he were some matter of alien lifeform, still in disbelief over what he had just seen. "Hey.... Rock.." Spike began, "how is it that you can just shoot two guys and kill them?" Spike stopped for a moment before continuing. "... You.. ever kill anyone?" Rock shook his head. "No.. but my dad taught me how to fight, and he always told me to do what I had to in order to survive." Spike was taken aback by this, "Sounds like... your dad taught you a lot." Rock nodded a bit, his expression starting to tangle with anger and sadness as thoughts of that killer started to pass through his mind again. He wanted to snap her neck and throw her body to the wolves, but now he didn't know what to do or where to go. Blues was his last hope. The small living area, along with the rest of the Bebop, lurched violently downwards, as if a giant had been sitting on it the whole time and had just now decided to get off it. Outside, a small ship was taking off. "Fuck him." The ship's red haired occupant muttered "Won't bother me either way, I'm getting tired of following him. I ever run into him again though, I'm going to cut his face off." And with that, the red-eyed assassin girl was detached from the Bebop and headed to Earth.  
"What the hell was that?" Faye asked to no one in particular as she and Jet entered the room, nearly falling to the ground with the sudden movement. "Don't know," Spike said, looking to his green-eyed counterpart. It didn't take the crew any time at all before they lifted off from Keroponas, one of the renamed moons of Mars, and headed away from Earth, in the direction of Ganymeade, known as the beachside of the galaxy.  
  
Hyperspace travel is a difficult concept to explain, but basically, the closer one travels to the speed of light, the more time slows down. So, after what seemed to be mere moments, the Bebop was entering Ganymeade's atmosphere. Within a few minutes, they were on the planet, and their large ship was left on a commercial landing pad, a sort of parking lot for interplanetary cruisers. "Well.." Jet began, a bit annoyedly, "where do we go from here, Rock?" "I don't know.." was the boy's anxious reply. He had heard 'Ganymeade', but it was a fairly large planet, not very different from Earth, and he didn't have any idea where to go. Looking around, he really didn't see much difference at all. He had only been on Earth for a short while when he was younger, but looking around the tall skyscrapers and concrete webs of city blocks and sidewalks now, he honestly couldn't see much of a difference. "Wait..." Rock said, "why don't you guys just stay here, and let me look around?" Spike, Jet, and Faye all looked at each other and shrugged. They didn't know what they were doing there, and hell if they were going to wander around aimlessly just looking for someone.  
  
Now by himself, Rock stepped into the gray maze of the city of Ganymeade, massive fingers of steel and concrete straining to reach the orange evening sky. He really had no idea what he was doing, and he merely passed from one city street to the other the way all the other pedestrians were. None of them caught his attention, though there weren't very many of them. If one would picture New York City without actually being swarmed with people constantly, one would have a good impression of Ganymeade. The sun was setting, and the streets grew emptier and emptier as Rock was beginning to lose hope in his search, if it could even be called so.  
  
'I think she lives on Ganymeade.' 'The city?' 'No, the planet.'  
  
A planet is a very large place, and Rock didn't have a clue how many cities were on Ganymeade. Little aimless Rock had now gone so far, that he had exited the city, and now blindly walked along a ground of dark purple stone. The sky was a saturated blue and purple hue, they seemed to be the predominant colors of the landscape. A few stones scattered around made the place look like a desert, but the aforementioned coloring and cool breeze of night kept it from being mistaken as such. Canyons of equally dark coloring where visible in the distance, and the jagged stones and boulders all around didn't make the place look very homely. Rock heard what sounded like a foot shuffle in the direction of his left hand side. He whipped his head to look, but saw nothing. The eerie silence that culminated as he stared only increased with a gentle gust of wind that blew his blond hair to the right side of his head, chilling the left side of his face. He heard the same sound again, from behind this time, and he wasted no time in quickly looking to it. He heard it twice more, coming from behind, then over and over, all around, like every protruding stone from the ground had a dancer practicing their routine behind it. "Who's there!?" The boy cried, and before he knew it, he had heard one last sound of a thud on the ground. He turned to look, and tilted his head back, his ruby red eyes meeting the dark blue gaze of that woman he recognized immediately.  
  
Blues.  
  
To her right ear, there was an odd electronic attachment, like a radio. It had what seemed to be an antenna stemming off the top, and her left eye had an equally advanced looking piece of technology. It defies typical description, but it could best be described as a slightly-rounded but mostly rectangular piece of pink see-through material, held in place over her left eye by a small band on her left ear that worked as a clamp for it, keeping it from moving. Rock couldn't begin to guess what either of these things did, but what concerned him the most was the laser pistol that she held. The red lens at the tip of the barrel stared blankly at Rock, threatening to burn a hole through his skull at any moment. A low grin, almost a smirk, was on her lips, magenta from her lipstick. She wore a revealing leather blouse accompanied with leather pants, a small red vest hanging loosely over her upper body. It was unbuttoned and fairly small, so it did little to hide what her blouse exposed. With a twirl of her gun, she holstered it and looked down at the young Rock, who stood before her without much of a decipherable emotion on his face.  
  
"I knew you'd come look for me," Blues nodded, "You're a lot like your dad, you know that?" Rock's red eyes looked up at Blues, his eyes straining to somehow reach into her mind and draw all the answers he so desperately seeked. The sadness and hatred he held deep within him came forth as he looked up to her, but her expression remained coy. Rock wasted no time in getting right to the point. "Why did you give me that ticket...?" Blues looked him in the eyes. The rocky blue-and-purple canyons in the distance lay almost invisible against the dark of night; Ganymeade had very little illumination after the sun set. "Well.." Blues began, "I'm gonna tell you straight. My mom was the same. A bounty hunter. Class A-3. She got killed, and hell if every bone in my body didn't scream out for me to kill the guy that did it. It ain't a good feeling, kid.. when your own mother trembles in your arms after she's been raped.. and it's not much better when she dies there, either. I looked for years... and let's just say what I found put me somewhere I didn't want to be." Rock's eyes never strayed from hers the whole time she talked. His mind raced to grasp the different motives she could have for telling him this, but her voice was soft and quiet, and Rock could see that she was telling the truth.  
  
It didn't once cross his mind that she may be an expert at feigning things such as this.  
  
Blues went on. "Rock.. I know a lot more about you than you do about me. I knew your pops a while back, and it'd been a while since we talked last.. but we always kept in touch. I know you feel terrible about losing him, you probably want to rip the girl's leg off and beat her to death with it.. but listen.." She set both her hands on Rock's shoulders and leaned down to meet him eye-to-eye, her face only inches from his as she spoke of what could later be known as the strongest thing he had ever felt, "I don't want you to feel what I have... you're too young. You'd be better without it." Rock nodded once.. but was still not completely convinced. Blues noted this. "Look.. just go on to Earth. I promise you'll find what you're really looking for there." Rock nodded again... but stopped to think about what she meant when she said what he was 'really' looking for. He thought about what Blues wanted him to do. On one hand, she made it seem as if he should forget his anger and hate and just live his life. This seemed a little odd to him. Wasn't it Blues herself that sent him on his search in the first place? But on the other hand... maybe she still knew something about the girl that killed Geese. "Blues," Rock asked rather bluntly, "what do you know about the girl that killed Geese? I just want to know... before I go." "In a way I don't know her at all. In another way, I know everything about her, and I could even tell you what's going to happen." With that, she turned and walked away, leaving the dumbfounded Rock to only watch her elegant form slowly disappear into the darkness of the Ganymeade night. With only the cold air to accompany him, Rock turned and began his long walk back to the Bebop.  
  
NOTE: White spaces added thanks to suggestions by Venatrix Avia. Hope they make your reading a little easier! I'll be going back and doing the same to the other chapters. 


	9. Call Me 'Dad'

Recap: With Rock's discovery of Blues in the Ganymeade badlands, his attention shifts to Earth. But he doesn't even know what's waiting for him on the small, uninteresting planet....  
  
Chapter Nine: Call Me 'Dad'  
  
He realized he had nowhere else to go. Whether or not he was to continue his search, it looked like Earth was the next stop for young Rock. And so, with a sigh he had made his way back to the Bebop, told them the story, and they had decided to go ahead and leave him on Earth. They couldn't have picked a worse spot, as little Rock had been left in the middle of a field without the slightest clue where he was. After about three days of living off the land- nothing the boy was unaccustomed to- he had come across what looked to be a swordfight between two samurais. The two stood staring at each other with narrowed eyes. One of the men had a bushy red ponytail, Himura Kenshin; the other had a much longer ponytail that was black, a few grouped strands coming off in spikes as the wind gently tossed it to either side, Haohmaru. There were a few patches of dirt in the grassy meadow, and the two men gripped their long katanas. Like snakes preparing to strike, they stood silent, eyes stern and concentrated. Rock shuffled his way to a nearby tree and peered at the scene from there.  
  
"I SAID I won't let you pass." The man with the black ponytail growled. "I don't care if your name IS Kenshin, no one goes by here to my dojo." "It doesn't matter if you'll let me pass or not. I'll go through either way," was Kenshin's threatening response, still standing unmoving and poised with his katana. Rock blinked his red eyes at the scene from where he hid, about ten feet away and just barely tilting his head from behind his tree 'What kind of fighting is this?' he thought, 'They're just standing there...'  
  
As soon as this thought had formed itself in his mind, Haohmaru struck.  
  
Haohmaru sprinted in close, shaving off the few feet that separated him from Kenshin. With a powerful and rapid swing, he brought his blade down upon Kenshin. Kenshin's reaction to this was to vault into the air with an impressive leap, Haohmaru's blade swinging diagonally through the air at nothing. He looked up and back just long enough to spot Kenshin. He knew Kenshin would attempt to strike him, but Haohmaru wasn't fast enough. Just as his body had turned and he was raising his blade defensively, Kenshin's sword took a single swift slice at his midsection, blood spraying outwards against Kenshin's blade and upon the grass. Haohmaru saw that his attempt to defend failed, and he quickly hopped back before he could be attacked again. He lurched forward with his katana raised and brought it down on Kenshin, the unmistakable clangs of steel on steel rapidly resonating through the valley. Rock stared with wide eyes as he stared at the scene before him. Their strikes were quick and fierce, and the flashes from their impacts were impressive to behold as they continued to trade blow after blow.  
  
After a fierce stare-down with blades crossed, the two fighters hopped back a fair distance and glared at each other. Silence. The wind tossed the long hair of the two samurais about their shoulders, until finally they both took one last decisive charge at each other. A battlecry from the two, followed by their bodies leaping into the air to meet each other, two sword swings, a single sickening sound of a deep successful slice, and then they both landed, each on one knee, facing away from each other.. The center of the area between them, where they had collided, was trailed with blood, a large quantity of it running perpendicular to the two fighters. A low grunt, and a curse, "Damn you.." and Kenshin fell off his knee and into the dust.  
  
Dead.  
  
Seeing that his business with Kenshin was done, Haohmaru turned his eyes to the tree where Rock hid. "You in there, Rock?" Rock gasped and his eyes widened a bit, stepping out from his hiding place "How do you know my name..?" Haohmaru's katana slipped into it's sheath, grinning a bit. "Heh.. that's an easy one. I was waiting for you. Don't ask why unless you can carry your head in your arms." Rock blinked.. but complied, and didn't ask, stepping to the samurai clad in his loose white garb. It had a single clean slit on the lower-left hand side of the stomach, and blood still dripped down his abdominal muscles. "You'll be staying with me, boy. Come, I'll show you your new home." "But.." Rock objected. "Quiet, you. Unless you want a slap from my katana flat you'll do as I say." Rock blinked and nodded as Haohmaru turned and started to walk away, the young Rock clambering to catch up with him. "Did... you know my dad?" "Yeah, I did. Now come on, before it gets dark."  
  
As they walked to the still-unknown destination, Rock made numerous attempts to get more information out of Haohmaru. All of them were met with intimidating threats, including an attempted counter-threat from Rock to run away. Once he saw that he'd get nowhere, Rock let out a little sigh and just walked along with Haohmaru.  
  
The two made their long walk through the grassy valley, Rock taking a moment to look around the area. A forest off in the distance on either side, some mountains visible beyond them. But what sparked his curiosity the most was the samurai that accompanied him in his walk. "Where are we going?" The young Rock asked, to which Haohmaru replied. "Don't ask stupid questions, you'll find out soon enough." He muttered under his breath as he continued to lead Rock towards his destination. "That hippie better hurry his ass up, I'm not staying stuck with this kid." His incoherent muttering continued as he came to a large black wall in the shape of a square; it was clearly built around something that seemed to be a moderately large one-floor building. He pulled the latch on the red steel double-doors and revealed that it housed a traditional-looking dojo.  
  
"Wow.." Rock mused quietly to himself, staring at the plain white and brown dojo. "Am I going to live here?" He asked anxiously. "Hell no!" Haohmaru shot back, "You're just staying here until what's-his-face shows up." Rock blinked. "Who..?" "You'll see." And with that, he led him into the building. He barely caught a glimpse of the realistic-looking gargoyle statue on the peak of the roof. The statue looked so realistic, in fact; that it actually seemed to have skin and clothing. It was feminine, and it's wings almost looked like steel, but he didn't get to see much more before he was led inside and the door closed.  
  
"Shoes off." Haohmaru stated bluntly. "Rolana!" He called to nowhere, "Get over here!" And with that, a tiny eight-year-old girl eagerly ran into the room, glancing up at Haohmaru, but with much more interest, at Rock. "Yes?" She asked politely, tilting her head to the left a bit, her small brown pigtails swinging gently. "What would you like, Haohmaru-sensei?" "Nothing for me," he replied, "but keep an eye on our guest until who I told you about earlier shows up." With that, he left the room. Rolana stared at Rock with her large green eyes, her mouth slightly open. "Hello! I'm Roll!" She shouted, practically out of nowhere and causing Rock to jump. "Err... hi." He muttered back nervously. "I'm-." Before he got another word out, the door behind him slid open and he heard an unfamiliar but at the same time well-known voice. "Hey! Wolf cub!" He gasped at those two words. There was only one man that called him that, and even before he turned around and looked up, he knew who it was. In a red jacket with the sleeves torn off, along with a plain white tank top and tight blue jeans, there stood the legendary Lone Wolf himself. With his trademark red cap, there was no mistake at all about who it was. Standing before the young Rock Howard was none other than legendary fighter, Terry Bogard. His blond ponytail was almost as instantly recognizable as his red cap, but at 35 years old, his well-known face was starting to lose its appeal.  
  
Rock smiled widely and threw himself at his old friend, his arms flying around the man's waist as he exclaimed happily, "Terry!" Terry smirked a bit as he ruffled the boy's hair, looking down at him with his blue eyes. "Hey Rock, ol' Haoh said you'd be needing someone to look out for you, so I guess that's me. There's something I gotta do back in town, but I'll come back for ya tomorrow, deal?" Rock nodded enthusiastically, seemingly forgetting everything in the presence of his oldest friend. "Sure thing, Terry!" "Hey... call me Dad." Terry grinned a little. "Sure thing..... Dad." Rock replied. Terry smirked again, and with that, he turned and headed to the door. With his back turned to Rock, the patch on his jacket was visible. A white five-point star. No wings. As the door closed, Rock was already anxiously waiting Terry's return. "Maybe it won't be so bad here after all. The best fighter ever, my new dad, what could possibly go wrong?" It seemed like things were finally starting to turn around for little Rock, because tomorrow he'd finally be happy again.  
  
It was just the waiting that'd be the hard part. 


	10. The Mark of the Wolves

Recap: "Finally, a chance to relax after this gods-awful week I've been through." This was what Rock thought just before he fell asleep in Haohmaru's dojo. Even as he slept, he was already beginning to dream of what his life would be like by Terry's side...  
  
Chapter Ten: The Mark of the Wolves  
  
Rock's eyes snapped open and he sat up on the bed, not even having undressed due to the excitement. As soon as he was on his feet, he eagerly called out "Is he here yet!?" The only reply to this was an angry growl and a snap from the voice of a familiar samurai coming from across the hall, "Shut up over there!" Despite this, Rock was out the door and anxiously waiting on the front step of the dojo within the minute, his eyes staring at the red steel gate, just waiting for it to swing open. A large smile was on his face for the entire duration of the first thirty minutes, which had become a wide grin by the end of the first hour, which became a tiny smirk by the end of the second hour, which became just a regular expression by mid-afternoon, which had become a frown by sunset, which had become that of sorrow by late evening, near-tears by midnight. "Terry.." Rock whispered quietly to himself, "you're late..."  
  
The same thing happened the next day. Rock ate his sparse meals at the doorstep. His eyes were fixed on the gate the whole time. "Maybe he got in a fight... I KNOW he wouldn't leave me on purpose..."  
  
He held out this hope for the entire first week, which had begun to diminish by the end of the first month, which was completely put away.. but never forgotten, at the end of the first year. Throughout this time, he came to know Roll and Haohmaru rather well. To his surprise, what he had presumed to be a statue on the roof of the dojo turned out to be a woman. Nin Keiyoma, Haohmaru's assistant instructor. She wore a plain white shirt with no pants, the bottom of the shirt just long enough to act as a short skirt. With her long silver hair and her red eyes, her shirt certainly accented her pale skin and delicate motions. The wings that Rock had mistaken as part of a gargoyle statue had turned out to be a large set of mechanical wings affixed to her shoulders, and their operation was as swift and graceful as any bird. It was with these three people; Haohmaru, Rolana (or Roll, as she preferred to be called), and Nin that Rock lived with, day after day. Their dojo, which apparently taught was was called the 'Hakkyokusaiken'* school of martial arts, had a minimal amount of students who Rock also took a liking to. Month after month went by, and no news of Terry. One particular show however, 'Big Shot', rekindled Rock's memories of the assassin girl. Numerous pictures were shown of her, though not a single one was from an angle where one could see her face. Her bounty increased with each year that passed, until the day of Rock's sixteenth birthday. That same day, her bounty rose to a staggering amount: $999,743,610.75 Just falling short of one billion dollars. The day of Rock's sixteenth birthday, September 12th 2102, he received a shimmering red Honda Shadow Spirit. Although it certainly looked nice, it was far from the hoverbike he dreamed about, and it was about one hundred years old, even if it did have a glossy paint job. A few days later, talk of a brand new dance club, Tahcemina, began to swamp the TV stations, and of course, Rock's constant badgering towards Haohmaru guaranteed that he'd be allowed to go... after the requisite chores. Once that was ready, he hopped on his shiny red Shadow Spirit, not ashamed of the wheels, and took off in the direction of Neo Ashibara. The dojo was fairly remote in terms of proximity to the city, so his motorcycle acquired a nice thin layer of dust by the time he was out of the forest and in the city.  
  
Within the city of Neo Ashibara is where our story resumes.  
  
The wind tossed his faded blond hair about his head as his motorcycle whipped down the city road, an anxious grin on his face. Rock's four years at the dojo had given him little exposure to anyone other than Haoh, Roll, and Nin; and as such, he was a bit on the shy side, despite the numerous compliments he received on a near-daily basis regarding his appearance. As his motorcycle came to a rest in it's parking place between two cars, his bright red eyes looked to the handlebars, and at the same time, the cuffs of his red jacket. Four years and he still wore it on a daily basis. The sleeves had to be tailored a bit to stay at an even length with his arms, but the waist was left untouched. This meant that the bottom of his jacket stopped a few inches above the waist of his black jeans, giving his tight gray shirt just enough to hint at the fierce set of stomach muscles they concealed. As he stepped off his motorcycle, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous as he approached a tall man with spiky blond hair and orange circular shades. He let out a small smirk and nodded to Rock, signaling his approval. As he stepped in, he heard a random person near the entrance gasp with astonishment. "Did Vash just LET someone in?"  
  
She ignored everything she felt when she first saw him. His hair, not a powerful yellow blond, but a somewhat faded platinum blond swiveled gracefully about his beautifully shaped face, the tips just long enough to partially obscure his vision through his ruby red eyes. His eyes matched the color of his thin jacket, not hiding his broad shoulders that fit the proportion of his slender and narrow body perfectly. He had been standing still as she watched, but now he began to walk. Not in her direction, but away at a slight angle. 'Oh sweet merciful gods above..' she thought to herself. 'Look at those hips...' Her admiration of Rock's lower body proceeded along a somewhat predictable path, thighs and butt, her crimson eyes soaking in his features. After she finally settled down, she shrugged it off and returned to sipping her mixed drink.  
  
The place was rowdy and filled with all different kinds of characters, elaborate costumes and quirky personalities all unfolding before Rock's eyes as he made his way around the edge of the room. 'This place is like half bar, half dance club... cool' Rock thought to himself. But his observant reverie was interrupted by an unseen figure that he bumped directly into. Rock stumbled back for a moment before falling onto his butt, hearing a familiar voice.. with a tone of surprise in it. "Wolf cub!?" His red eyes widened in an instant as he looked up at the figure before him. In loose blue jeans that tightened around his thick thighs, a brown leather jacket, and blond hair trimmed to shoulder-length, there stood Terry Bogard. A few spectators that were standing nearby glanced casually at the brief collision, but the entire room fell into dead silence as Rock stood, and the star on his back was visible, the wings as well. Terry had a reputation as the 'Lone Wolf', and the star on his jacket, even his new brown one, was a symbol of his self-proclaimed wolf status. After the vigorous beat-down he had given a gang of teenagers that wore the same patch, no one dared to wear a garment with a five-point star anywhere on it. Terry just stared at Rock with his azure eyes, each of his arms occupied around the waist of a suspiciously young woman. Rock's eyes burned with anger as they glared in return, the muscles in his right arm quivering in their attempts at restraint. "Aren't you a little late to pick me up..?" Rock whispered in a faltering voice. He didn't even know how he did it, but in an instant he had found his way to Terry, his fist, clad in a black leather fingerless glove, lunging at his face. Terry parried this blind thrust with the proficiency of an experienced martial artist, his hand taking a firm grip onto Rock's fist and slamming his knee into his stomach, a second knee to the face sending Rock falling back. "You'll never learn, wolf cub.." A deafeningly loud collective gasp escaping every spectator in the room. "Wow... he's the miburo*..." A few people murmured. "But I thought that was just a legend?" A few people contested. "Who, Rock?" Terry scoffed in the general direction of the voice. "That's no legend, he's just a sad little puppy with nowhere to go." Rock's eyes glowed like coals, only redder, as violently curling flames of bright cyan coated his hands.  
  
"Raising a....."  
  
*hakkyokusaiken: Hah-ki-o-kooh-say-kin. Just run it all together and say it quickly.  
*miburo: The Japanese word for 'wolf'. 


	11. Fatal Fury

Recap: Rock, now aged sixteen, has found Terry once more during what was supposed to be a casual night out. From there, madness ensues.  
  
Chapter Eleven: Fatal Fury  
  
"STOOOOOOORM!" His hands slammed into the tile floor, clenching his eyes shut tight. He could feel his muscles straining with effort, but something didn't feel right. It was oddly silent. He opened his eyes and looked up, seeing Terry smirking down at him, pushing the two women around either of his arms away. Rock looked down to his hands. There was nothing there. His eyes widened slightly as he tried to understand why his attack had failed, but any cohesive thought was slammed out of his head by a fierce upward kick from Terry, knocking him up and back, turning in midair and landing face down on the cold Tahcemina floor. Rock rubbed his lower lip with the back of his palm as he stood, his back turned to Terry as he struggled to stand. "Are you ok?" He heard Terry say. Time seemed to slow down from that moment on. Rock knew exactly what was coming, he had seen it many times before, but he couldn't move in time. A hammering fist into his spine, with the strength to send him flying, but his feet were pinned to the floor. Part of Terry's attack. The Buster Wolf, one of the most devastating moves ever seen in the True Fighter tournament. Rock clenched his eyes shut tight as he heard Terry yell, "Bastah Wolf!" Then it happened. A fierce explosion bursting from under Terry's feet, blasting up and forward, lashing against Rock's back and sending him launching through the air, soaring over the spectators and crashing against the back wall. The pressure of the launch kept him suspended against the wall for a moment before his body finally fell from the wall, falling limply to the floor below.  
  
Rock fought the pain in his head as his eyes opened; the flashing green, red, and blue lights of the club ceiling aiding in his headache's bid to burst his head open. He brought each breath to his lungs with great effort as he forced himself to stand, turning his gaze to Terry. Crimson met cobalt eyes, a harsh and hateful staredown. The acrimonious silence bit against Rock's heart, still yearning to know why he was abandoned. In his mind, he felt no such sadness. All he wanted was to hurt Terry.  
  
He approached Terry cautiously, his palms tilted inward slightly with loosely parted fingers and held in the air in his martial arts stance, the Hakkyokusaiken style. A jab. Blocked. A hook, stopped, grabbed by the wrist, and countered with a fist to the gut. A leather boot to Rock's face, his wrist held. He dropped to one knee, but was pulled roughly to his feet by Terry, his grip on Rock's soft hair. Terry grabbed his other wrist and held them both in place, unable to defend as Terry drove his knee into Rock's stomach over and over, the heavy joint thudding into the younger man's hard abdominal muscles. Terry finally released Rock's wrists, watching him falter as he attempted to keep his balance. A smirk from Terry, and he raised his fist into the air. "Powah..." Rock knew this attack as well, he had seen Terry use it. But he could barely see straight, much less avoid the thundering explosion of.. "Geisah!" The Power Geyser, a burst of energy more powerful than the Buster Wolf, burst from the ground, sending Rock, once more, flying away and onto the floor. He lay still for a few moments, the silent spectators of the club staring blankly at Rock's body, some of them hoping him to get up, others wishing for Terry to kill the boy. The latter was disappointed, as Rock slowly pushed himself up with his hands, slowly and staggeringly finding his way to his feet. His breath came in short bursts, gasping, but he refused to stay down, his angered red eyes on Terry's.  
  
He didn't even realize it at the time, but Terry and that assassin girl were now the only people that he actually WANTED to kill. Everyone else had been in self-defense... but these two. He wanted to see them die in his hands, to see the scared look in their eyes turn to the blank stare of death. To rob them of their existence in the most vicious of manners and savor every moment of it.  
  
A hateful scorn. "You still alive, wolf cub?" Rock grit his teeth and snarled. "Or are you dead on your feet?" Terry's words drew Rock's breath from his mouth in enraged sneers, feeling his arms tremble and his hands quake almost uncontrollably. "I'll kill you!" Rock yelled as he ran to Terry at full sprint. He skid to a stop just outside of Terry's reach, and saw the experienced martial artist parry, just as Rock expected. But Rock hadn't attacked, and he now had a free moment. He took it, swinging his left foot out and into Terry's knee, hearing it crack. A quick grunt of pain from Terry, and he followed through with a fist into the man's stomach. He lurched forward, but Rock was unrelenting.  
  
Hammering blow after blow, alternating fists, knees, and feet, Rock continued to rain his assault down upon Terry. The black pupils faded from Rock's eyes, leaving only the glowing red and white. His actions became automatic. He stopped thinking what attack he would use next and just hammered upon Terry, the ferocity and swiftness of his blows beyond what the older man could stop. Rock's hair began to sway about his head with the power of his movements, almost floating and billowing gently like grass in the wind. His hair grew lighter, fading, almost like a shimmering silver glow as his hands burst into the familiar faded blue flame. He opened his palms and brought them to Terry's chest, flames reaching from his palms and like claws attaching to Terry's chest. The fingers of fire tore and lashed at Terry's flesh with animal-like brutality, ripping away with slings of flesh and blood until the beating heart was visible through shattered ribs. Fingers of blue clamped onto it, ripping it from its place in the body with a sickening sound, the body, dead instantly, launching into the air and flying away, soaring the full distance of the floor with no loss in speed, blood spraying from the large hole in its chest as it flew its course, bouncing lifelessly off the rear wall and onto the ground, the heartless body bouncing limply, each contact with the wall and floor releasing a quick flush of blood. Staring at the ceiling with those blank staring eyes. Blue eyes, lifeless. The claws of flame dissipated, dropping the bloody mass of muscle they held with their disappearance. Rock followed the heart's motion as it fell to the floor, slapping a portion from its coat of blood against it. His red eyes looked to Terry's dead body, the grotesque and gaping hole in his chest clearly stated through his ripped white shirt. Before he could even let out the sigh of relief he wanted, a thundering fist in the back of his head knocked the breath out of him, sending him falling to the ground. 


	12. Crimson Crisscross

Recap: Immediately following his defeat of Terry, who abandoned him, Rock is happened upon by an unknown assailant, for reasons unknown.  
  
Chapter Twelve: Crimson Crisscross  
  
Rock groaned as he rubbed the back of his head, struggling to pull himself to his feet. Towering above him, a man with dirty-looking brown skin, almost green, and clad in elaborate medieval-style armor stared down at him. With bright orange eyes the monster of a man traced over Rock's features, watching him as he stood and looked to his direction. Rock's own red eyes inspected the man, looking over his brown armor and light tan cape; short red hair spiking behind him. A wry smirk crept over the man's face, leaning down and grabbing Rock by the throat, his massive right hand grabbing his neck and his huge fingers clamping down on him. Rock groaned and struggled as he was held above the man's head, his strength escaping his body quickly.  
  
At a nearby table, a girl with long red hair sat with a fairly young-looking boy with blond hair creeping out of the sides of his long and pointy green hat. "Hey Link?" The girl mused. "That's the guy that's always after you, isn't it?" The boy, Link, shifted in his seat to look over at the towering man that held Rock by the throat, Rock's legs flailing at the empty air under them, trying to summon the strength to kick at the man, but failing. "Hey yeah!" The young boy chirped enthusiastically, his left hand flying over his shoulder to withdraw the short sword from his scabbard. His right hand took hold of the shield buckled to the scabbard, and in three seconds he was equipped and ready to battle. "Well, what are you waiting for?" The girl grinned, her bright red eyes looking from the young Link to the towering tall man, but most intently, at Rock. "Go get him." "Sure thing, Lina!" Link hopped off his stool and dashed at the man, his sword raised above his head and his shield poised in front of him.  
  
Though the young boy's battlecry was certainly enthusiastic, it was far from the most strategic of maneuvers. The larger man's voice came in animal-like snarls as his massive palm reached behind him, gripping firmly upon young Link's face as he was lifted into the air next to Rock. A sneer formed on his face as he took the two limp bodies and slammed them together, sharp groans of pain escaping in unison from his two victims. He reeled his left arm- the one that held Link- up above his head and fiercely drove it into the ground, causing the boy to lose his grip on his sword. The clatter of the fallen weapon caught Lina's attention, long wavy strands of red running down her back. She stood slowly, her large green shoulder guards rustling somewhat as she did. She took a moment to tug down on her light yellow t-shirt, dusting off a small spot on her red jeans. Once she deemed herself ready, she gripped the sword sheathed to one of her belt loops, the golden handle sparkling in the multi-colored lighting of the area as she deftly raised it into the air, pointing the tip of her weapon to the man who even as she watched alternated between hammering Rock's and Link's skulls into the hard floor. "Hey Ganondorf!" Lina called, about twenty feet or so between them. This clearly caught the man's attention, as Ganondorf turned to face the significantly younger Lina, holding a mildly conscious boy in each hand. "What do you want?" Lina, with her tiny frame and defiant attitude, stared down the much older Ganondorf with eyes of red. "I want you to put him down." A smirk and a scoff from the malignant figure, and he halfheartedly flung his wrist to the side, sending the young Link crashing into a table which toppled over in the hushed silence.  
  
"The other one." Lina commanded in a voice that showed no intention of waiting. With a quick, curious grunt, Ganondorf glanced at the fading Rock in his hand and then to Lina. "This one? You don't even know who this is." His next line came in a clearly insulting tone. "And the great Lina Inverse only looks out for herself." The great Lina Inverse scowled ferociously at this, thrusting herself forward a single lunging step, bringing herself to be about ten feet from her target. "Just put him down." "I don't think I want to." Ganondorf retorted promptly. "You've clearly taken an interest in him because he has something you want. Gold, perhaps? Maybe a rare artifact or ancient magical secret? It's no secret that you're a selfish little girl, Lina. Perhaps I'll take this with me and find out what's so special about him."  
  
With a single powerful bound, which eased into a run with leaping strides, Ganondorf was out the door with Lina on his tail. Across the street and into an alley, dragging a limp and unconscious Rock by the throat like a ragdoll until the towering cement wall of a building stopped him in his tracks. Turning around, he promptly spotted Lina scrambling down the narrow alley, her slender frame splashed in the blue light of night as she skidded to a stop. "Put... him down. I'm not messing with you anymore, big boy!" With a laugh, the man released his grip on Rock's throat, the limp body thudding against the ground. "Now buzz off, old man." With a contemptuous glare and a sinister chuckle, Ganondorf raised a fist towards his tiny opposition. "I'd like to see you try and make me." With a smirk that hinted at sharply pointed canines, Lina raised her hands above her head. "You got it. Darkness beyond twilight, crimson blood that flows..." "Wait, no!" Ganondorf's eyes became that of pure terror as he thrust his fist into the ground, a puff of dark black smoke laced with violet lining concealing his figure and fading away to leave nothing.  
  
Quickly sheathing her blade, Lina ran to the fallen body and kneeled down next to him. With a few rough pats on the cheek, she questioned in a semi-interested manner, "Hey... guy? You all right, there?" Strands of blond hung over the fallen Rock's face, his breath faint. "Hrm.." Lina mused. "He needs a healing spell." Standing and holding her hands a few inches above Rock's chest, her hands began to glisten with cyan sparkles as the alley became illuminated with the glow of her palms. "Detoxify!" She called as the sparkles and the glow itself - an aura of healing energy - sank into Rock's body, causing the body to glow with the same light for a few seconds until the illuminescence was one with the darkness.. Rock coughed hoarsely as his eyes clenched shut, the pain in his throat evident as he sat up and rubbed his head, a dark pink and red mark across the length of his throat where Ganondorf's powerful grip had come down on him. Groaning in pain, he eventually managed to open his eyes, his vision blurred as he looked up to see nothing but a mix of colors standing before him. "His eyes..." Lina whispered to herself. Even in the moonlight, the powerful ruby of Rock's eyes could not be obscured. Hearing this, Rock focused his gaze on the center of the unknown amalgam that presented itself before him. Lina kneeled down, checking Rock for any evident signs of injury. "You all right there, guy?" Confused as to what had happened exactly, Rock looked dumbfounded as he nodded at her, his eyes fixed on hers. "I... yeah, I'm okay. Um... not that I don't appreciate you saving me and all, that was really nice of you. But, who are you?" Smiling, she stated plainly. "Why, I'm Lina Inverse. Sorceress extraordinare." Holding out his right hand, Rock smiled softly at his rescuer. "My name's Rock... it's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Inverse." Clasping the gloved hand and giving it a rough shake, Lina pulled Rock up to his feet. "Can the 'Miss' business. Just call me Lina." "Alright... Lina. Should we go back?" "Nah, it's just 'bout closing time. You can just head off on your merry little way if you want." "Oh... um... alright. Thank you." "Don't rub it in, new guy." Rock let off a quick, nervous chuckle. "Right, right... I'll just go." "You do that."  
  
"But.. before I go..." Lina sighed as she shot Rock a look. "Geez, what is it with you!? Do you never leave!?" "Um... can I have my hand back?" The tint of color on Lina's face was lightly brushed with a stroke of pink - she clearly was the type to flare up in anger quickly - as she flung Rock's hand back at him. "You're lucky I forgot about that! Now go!" Rock gazed with a blank look into Lina's eyes as she glared back with furrowed brows, the two standing in moon-tipped darkness until Lina - having had her fill of standing in an alley with nothing to say or do - turned and stomped away. Stationary for only a few moments, Rock zipped up the cuffs of his red jacket and walked after her. 


End file.
